The present invention relates to a silver halide color photographic light-sensitive material and, more particularly, to a light-sensitive material having high resistance to pressure.
Generally, various pressures are applied to a photographic light-sensitive material coated with silver halide emulsions. For example, a general photographic negative film is bent when taken up into a magazine or loaded into a camera, or pulled when advanced. A sheet-like film such as a light-sensitive material for printing or a medical roentgen light-sensitive material is often broken or bent because it is directly handled by human hands. Also, all light-sensitive materials receive high pressure when cut or processed. It is known that when any of various pressures is thus applied to a photographic light-sensitive material, the pressure acts on the material via gelatin as a binder of silver halide grains, and this changes the photographic properties of the material.
Recently, silver halide color photographic light-sensitive materials are being increasingly demanded to have high image quality and high toughness at the same time. If the surface sensitivity of a silver halide is raised to improve the sensitivity and graininess, pressure marks increase in size as a side effect. Jpn. Pat. Appln. KOKAI Publication No. (hereinafter referred to as JP-A-)63-220228 and JP-A-11-15115 have disclosed methods of improving silver halide emulsions as countermeasures. As a measure in layer design, reducing the density of silver halide grains by increasing the binder coating amount is known to be effective. However, the effect is unsatisfactory. Increasing the gelatin coating amount leads to an increase in the film thickness, and side effects such as deterioration of the sharpness and desilvering characteristics are large.
In particular, miniaturization of cameras is recently vigorously studied in addition to down-sizing of formats of film cartridges. Consequently, light-sensitive materials are left to stand for long time periods in cameras while they are bent at high curvatures. The aforementioned methods of improving changes in photographic properties caused by conventionally known instantaneously applied pressures have almost no effects on pressure marks produced by such uses.
Also, requirements for the storage stability of light-sensitive materials are becoming more and more strict in recent years. In particular, color negative films that are used in photography or stored in various environments and conditions are required to have higher stability.
Especially in recent years, amateur divers have many chances to take underwater pictures, so stability at very high humidity is being required in addition to normal storage stability.
It is an object of the present invention to provide a silver halide color photographic light-sensitive material having high resistance to pressure and, more particularly, to provide a light-sensitive material having high resistance to pressure continuously applied for long time periods, which is particularly a problem when the material is loaded into a small-sized camera, and also having high storage stability.
The above object of the present invention is achieved by a silver halide color photographic light-sensitive material having the following arrangements.
(1) A silver halide color photographic light-sensitive material comprising, on a support, a unit blue-sensitive layer including at least one blue-sensitive silver halide emulsion layer containing a yellow coupler, a unit green-sensitive layer including at least one green-sensitive silver halide emulsion layer containing a magenta coupler, and a unit red-sensitive layer including at least one red-sensitive silver halide emulsion layer containing a cyan coupler, at least one of the unit blue-, green-, and red-sensitive layers comprising not less than two color-sensitive layers differing in sensitivity, of which a highest-sensitivity layer being positioned farthest from the support, wherein the light-sensitive material has at least one layer containing a high-boiling organic solvent, at least 50% by weight of which is occupied by a high-boiling organic solvent having a viscosity of 300 mPas or more at 25xc2x0 C.
(2) The silver halide color photographic light-sensitive material described in item (1) above, wherein the high-boiling organic solvent having a viscosity of 300 mPas or more at 25xc2x0 C. has a dielectric constant of 7 or more, a log P of 6.5 or more, and a weight-average molecular weight of 500 or more.
(3) The silver halide color photographic light-sensitive material described in item (1) above, wherein at least one of the unit color-sensitive layers comprises three layers arranged adjacent to each other in the order of a highest-sensitivity layer (Lo), a medium-sensitivity layer (Lm), and a lowest-sensitivity layer (Lu) from the farthest side from the support, and an oil phase viscosity (v1) of Lo, an oil phase viscosity (v2) of Lm, and an oil phase viscosity (v3) of Lu, at 50xc2x0 C., have the following relationship:
v2 greater than 1.5v1
or
v3 greater than 1.5v1
(4) The silver halide color photographic light-sensitive material described in item (2) above, wherein at least one of the unit color-sensitive layers comprises three layers arranged adjacent to each other in the order of a highest-sensitivity layer (Lo), a medium-sensitivity layer (Lm), and a lowest-sensitivity layer (Lu) from the farthest side from the support, and an oil phase viscosity (v1) of Lo, an oil phase viscosity (v2) of Lm, and an oil phase viscosity (v3) of Lu, at 50xc2x0 C., have the following relationship:
v2 greater than 1.5v1
or
v3 greater than 1.5v1
(5) The silver halide color photographic light-sensitive material described in item (3) above, wherein a plastic deformation ratio (xcex11) of Lo, a plastic deformation ratio (xcex12) of Lm, and a plastic deformation ratio (xcex13) of Lu have the following relationship:
xcex12 less than 0.95xcex11
or
xcex13 less than 0.95xcex11
(6) The silver halide color photographic light-sensitive material described in item (4) above, wherein a plastic deformation ratio (xcex11) of Lo, a plastic deformation ratio (xcex12) of Lm, and a plastic deformation ratio (xcex13) of Lu have the following relationship:
xcex12 less than 0.95xcex11
or
xcex13 less than 0.95xcex11
In the present invention, a silver halide color photographic light-sensitive material having high resistance to pressure and high storage stability can be obtained.
Additional objects and advantages of the invention will be set forth in the description which follows, and in part will be obvious from the description, or may be learned by practice of the invention. The objects and advantages of the invention may be realized and obtained by means of the instrumentalities and combinations particularly pointed out hereinafter.